A Wizard's Journey
by Stars in the Void
Summary: Harry Potter, young, reclusive billionaire has come to Smallville to make a new life but discovers that his destiny is not yet complete and that he is about to embark on an adventure greater than anything he could believe possible.


This is a Smallville / Harry Potter crossover, primarily focused on the Smallville aspect.

I do have my own idea's about relationships, where this story is going, and don't fear that is going to be a simple retelling of the Smallville series with Harry included, he will have his own nemesis and problems to solve but he will have a profound impact on the characters and plot of the Smallville series. This chapter has been re-done, I hope you enjoy it. Any suggestions about villains or pairing please let me know.

The Nine Hells

* * *

New Homes

_There was pain, and then there was an all consuming light that had enveloped him, and then there was the peaceful oblivion of darkness. It felt like the end and yet strangely like a new beginning._

"In today's events the search for Lex Luthor, son of billionaire Lionel Luthor, was called off by rescuers who have failed to recover both his body and the wreckage of the plane he was in. A spokesperson for Dr. Helen Luthor implored the press not to press her at this vulnerable, as those closet to her report that she broke down into tears when the news came through that they were calling off the search. It has also been reported that Lionel Luthor was clearly angry with the decision to stop the search and insists that Dr. Helen Luthor is the one responsible for his son's disappearance." The dark haired male newsreader paused and turned to his colleague. "It appears that this isn't the only story concerning a billionaire today, isn't that right Sarah?"

The generic blonde, blue-eyed Sarah nodded while smiling into the camera, the insincerity of it was as clear to anybody actually paying attention, however Harry doubted that the people who watched this particular news channel were actually paying attention to the news and what was being said but rather being ensnared and captivated by Sarah's physical attributes alone.

"The business world was shocked today when it was announced that young and reclusive billionaire Harry Potter was moving out of his Metropolis Hotel Penthouse Suite to his newly constructed mansion out to Smallville. Many were speculating as to the reason of this move however neither the billionaire himself or his spokesperson have commented, despite the numerous rumours that have been stated. However there is no doubt that Harry Potter will remain in charge of his company, even from Smallville, as his continued success comes amidst the announcement of record high profits, as he and his company nets various defence contracts with both government and private firms."

The almost soothing voice of Sarah was silenced by Harry, who quickly shut off the television, and dropped the remote back into it's slot. He closed his eyes for a few minutes as he rested on the comfortable leather of the limo he was being driven in, however after a few minutes he opened his eyes and quickly turned his attention back to the seemingly never ending pile of reports, laying haphazardly across the large passenger seat, running a business, it seemed, involved massive amounts of paperwork, something he discovered when creating Azkaban Industries.

A twisted parody of a smile touched his lips as he considered his business's chosen name, it meant absolutely nothing to the people of this world, but to him it was a bit of a grim reminder of the past he had left behind. It reminded him that one must always be alert.

Harry shook himself free of his own tormenting internal musings as he felt the limo finally slow down and he edged forward in his seat as he eager waited to see his new home, a genuine smile graced his lips, finally he would have a place to call his own, a place where he didn't have to sweep for listening bugs or hidden microphones and a place where he didn't have to have armed guard watching his back while he slept.

Harry couldn't wait to explore his new home, after all it had been mostly his design, only calling to outside architects when needed, but he had been focusing on creating and developing an environment that he would feel most at ease in, most at home in and now, ultimately, he had succeeded. He, of course, had kept the only complete set of blueprints himself, and they now rested comfortably in his own personal safe, inaccessible to all but him. Given the nature and the amount of corporate treachery that occurred everyday it would only be prudent, but he doubted that the plans were totally secure, not when dealing with people as ruthless as Lionel Luthor or ambitious as his son Lex or as driven as Oliver Queen and the forgotten, but elusive Bruce Wayne. After all the mansion had to have been built and he did use outside help when designing the place, so it couldn't be called totally secure but Harry was going to do his absolute best to make sure that it would be as safe as possible and besides it was a good thing to possess a little healthy paranoia, after all was it paranoia if they really were out to get you.

The limo had stopped and was now resting on the almost pure white gravel of the driveway, facing the front of his new home. He looked behind him and stared at the gap and sighed, his gates hadn't arrived yet, and wouldn't be installed for another two days which meant, rather unfortunately, that anybody could just drive into and up to his new home. He sighed again before turning his attention to the matters at hand.

"I just wanted to thank you for a pleasant journey, but this will be far enough." He called out to the young driver that the limo company had sent to ferry him from his hotel to Smallville as he started shuffling papers around. "I think I can walk the rest of the distance." He adding, jokingly.

"I am sorry, Mr. Potter, but there's been a slight change of plans." The dark humour in what Harry would call a fairly attractive voice caused him to look up instantly, locking on her eyes, being reflected back in the mirror, no mercy, no remorse, she wore the eyes of a killer, but before he could even speak or reply, the driver had pushed a button, causing the partition to rise and the locks around him to engage instantly. He was trapped. "Goodbye Mr. Potter."

Harry immediately sprang into action, his papers forgotten, as he tried desperately pulling on the closest door handle, but it was too late the door was sealed. He then started hammering the tainted glass window, a pointless gesture he knew, and he quickly painted an expression of pure panic and helplessness on his face just in case the assassin was watching, however when the television suddenly jumped to life and a ten second countdown appeared, in flashing blood red colours he dropped the act and focused completely on escaping from his imminent demise.

He quickly closed his eyes and concentrated on Apparating outside the car but also making sure he would be far enough away that he could escape the explosion and the attention of his would be assassin, hastily he gathered his energy and released it, all of this occurring in less than a second and was gone with a not a sound.

When he opened his eyes he discovered that he had appeared in a cornfield and immediately dropped to the ground, the height cornfield was perfect as it concealed him perfectly, but he was taking no chances not after such a close call. After a few seconds there was the sound of a very large explosion in the distance and he winced painfully, hoping that limo wasn't close enough to actually damage his brand new house.

He managed to roll up off the ground and dust himself off, thankfully he was wearing only casual clothes and not one of his suits. He waited patiently for the sound of a nearby passing car and quickly set off in that direction the sound had come when he had heard the car race past, hopefully he was heading out in the right direction.

As he walked through the tall fields of corn, he smiled grimly to himself, given his past it was almost the perfect welcoming present he had expected, he thought to himself bitterly. Hopefully the sound of the racing car which had set him off in the direction of the road would contain the assassin, for now she wouldn't have a reason for staying especially when she thought he was dead and the police were on their way.

His grim smile became a smirk as he thought about his revenge against the assassin, although he would probably never find out who ordered the hit, it wouldn't stop him from ordering his own security forces from investigating the matter and the best part of the deal was that the person who ordered the hit would probably have the assassin killed for her incompetence, not that she would be able to explain away his escape, after she wouldn't have stuck around long enough to watch him after all there was only a ten second countdown.

Lost in his own thoughts he never thought to look around to make sure he was alone, confident in the ability of the tall cornfield to shield him from prying eyes, he was wrong.

It took him five minutes of walking to reach the main road, that weaved it's way through Smallville, like an artery, after which he became much more serious and conscious about his safety and his surroundings, given that he wasn't concealed in the tall cornfield any more. He made sure that he could reach his handgun, which rested comfortably in a holster attached to the back of his jeans, at the small of his back, a concealed weapon he knew, but still he'd rather have it and never use it than not having it and needing it.

There was no need to check his other weapon. His wand rested gently against his wrist, the warmth and spark of his magic flowing through and interacting with his wand had an almost soothing effect on him and so he wore it constantly, also the fact was that he would never entrust the wand to anybody else and so he kept it to himself. Not that he used magic very often after all given the massive resources he possessed, in the terms of money, power and political capital, he rarely found himself in a situation that he needed to use his magic, and ultimately he had only used his magic five times since he had arrived in this world.

It was also the reason why he wished to be alone in his new home for a few days, before anybody else arrived, so that he could ward it to his satisfaction as well as making sure that the magic he used wouldn't interfere with comforts of modern life.

After another ten minutes of walking he managed to reach the now cordoned off entrance to his new home, and sighed, as he watched the police officers congregate about the burnt out husk of his limo. He already felt a headache coming on as he knew he would have to deal with not only the police but also his company and his security forces, who would now insist on setting up their operations immediately. On the bright side he had discovered that the locals seemed friendly enough with two people offering to give him a lift however he had politely declined after all he didn't want to draw the wrath of the person that tried to have him killed on innocent people and so he had walked the distance, keenly watching his surroundings, until he got into his new home he wouldn't relax.

He sighed again and walked up to the closet police officer who was standing guard to the entrance and waited patiently for the officer to acknowledge him.

"Can I help sir?" The officer sounded bored and uninterested, just giving him the expected public response, his eyes shifting back to the wreckage of the limo and there was a longing in his eyes as if wishing he could be one of the police officers examining the burnt out car.

"I would like to see the Sheriff." Harry asked in a pleasant tone.

"What? Are you stupid or something can't you see she is in the middle of a crime scene." The officer asked angrily. His raised voice was attracting the attention of the people nearby.

"And I would like your men to get off of my property." Harry demanded in a cold voice, all trace of politeness and warmth gone and as an insult he spoke in slow tone, making sure to clear pronounce each word, as if speaking to a child. The officer bristled, his face going red with anger and was about to respond, but was interrupted before he could begin.

"Well I'll be, Potter is that you?" The surprise was clear in the voice of the person who had just spoken. Harry glanced over to the newcomer and discovered that it was Sheriff Adams.

"Well it looks like I had a lucky escape." He gestured to the limo behind the sheriff.

"Yes you did and for a moment we thought that you had gone up with your fancy ride." Sheriff Adams continued while giving him a once over. A suspicious light formed in her eyes.

"We found what was left of a body in the truck and as you picture it was pretty burnt up and you know for a moment we assumed it was yours." The sheriff sounded relieved that the person she thought dead was still alive, but was clearly suspicious about the body now.

"So Mr. Potter any idea of who it was?" Sheriff Adams asked whilst circling him, her hand resting on her weapon, the tension started to build, as the nearby conversations trailed off and silence descented over the witnesses. Other police officers closed in.

"I don't know for sure whose body was in the truck, but I would think it was the original driver of the limo, but then again it is just a guess." Harry offered his opinion, completely calm and collected, his tone sombre as he thought about the life of an innocent man who had been killed just because he was a limo driver, just the bad luck of being chosen as his driver.

"What makes you say that?" The suspicion in Sheriff Adam's voice reached an untold peak.

"I was picked up from the hotel, in Metropolis, where I have been staying and was driven straight here. There were no stops and no interruptions, but when I arrived here I told the person I believed to be the driver that I would be fine and that she could go and that's when everything started happening." He paused briefly and thinking briefly about how much to reveal, continued. "However the driver locked me in the back and that is when I realised that the driver was an assassin and this was an assassination attempt, she left immediately." He felt his lips twist into a vicious smirk. "What she didn't know was I always carry an override control when in a limo, just a little precaution in case of such events."

"Really?" The disbelief was mirrored by Sheriff Adam's expressions.

"That's the truth." Harry answered calmly, looking her straight in the eye.

"What can you tell me about your driver then?" Sheriff Adams asked.

"Nothing useful I'm afraid, I was buried in reports the whole journey here. I didn't even get a good look at her and before you ask she didn't say anything I'm afraid." Harry quickly lied, but giving nothing away, he wanted this handled by his people not by the police.

"Really?" Sheriff Adam's repeated herself, she didn't look like attempting to believe him any more.

Harry knew the Sheriff could tell he was holding back details but without anything else there was little else she could do.

"Now Sheriff, I've indulged you, but now I am going to have to insist that you and your men get off my property." Harry's warmth had been drained away but the interrogation and was responding in kind. "If there's anything else I'll let you know."

"You be and sure to keep that to heart Mr. Potter, but this is a crime scene and we ain't going nowhere, at least for a while." Sheriff Adam's smiled widely, her features predatory. "That'll give you plenty of time to remember."

"Yes, your right, but while my driveway may be a crime scene my new home isn't and I'm going go inside and work and if you think of any more questions, please by all means forward them to my lawyer."

Harry started walking towards the entrance of his new home and was forced to stop when two police officers stepped in his way, their hands now gripping their handguns, the looks of hostility gripped them. He waited patiently.

"Let him go boys." Sheriff Adam's voice called out and the two police officers backed away, their eyes never leaving his body. "Oh and Mr. Potter if I find that you've taken matters into your own hands I'll nail you. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly" Harry retorted in icy tone.

Harry glided smoothly over the white gravel, past the police officers that had been surrounding him and past the small crowd investigating the destroyed car, and continued on uninterrupted towards the archway that would lead to the door of his new mansion. As he walked on he forced himself to continue, to keep walking and not to stop and stare and simply admire the beauty of his new home.

His mansion had been forged out of white marble and black marble, the contrasting colours were striking and seemed almost out of place here in Smallville, but regardless, it was beautiful, there were columns and arches, platforms and windows, all pieces of art in their own right and all carved with the creatures that had shaped the very mythology of the world, of sirens, of nymphs, and of the gods.

However despite the seemingly fantastical appearance of his mansion, his new home contained the very best and very latest in technology, especially in the art of security, with cameras in almost every room and every hall, the non-decorative doors were made of reinforced steel disguised as wood, and every so often hidden panels, mainly in the walls but also the floors.

He was suddenly at the entrance and pulled himself out of his thoughts and started to concentrate on what he should be doing, quickly pulling his swipe card, he ran it through the waiting slot on the wall, watching as the red light flickered green, and after a few seconds a partition in a seemingly solid wall moved to reveal a waiting computer system, placing his thumb on the touch sensitive screen, after a few seconds there was a musical chime and Harry withdrew his thumb and watched the partition close with click. He waited for a few seconds and then spoke.

"Azkaban." He pronounced it clearly with no hesitation.

The door in front of him suddenly opened to reveal his new home and he as passed the threshold the door sealed itself behind him. The corridor was wide and spacious and while he would have liked to take the time to explore and revel in his new home, he had things to do and made his way, quickly to the room which he had created to be his office.

He found it just as he had designed, a central room at the back of the mansion, there was a raised platform which ran the width of the room, just to the left of the door in which he entered, there were two small staircases which led up the raised platform at either end of the room. The platform itself was overlooking an open space complete with a small and as of yet an un-stocked bar and a large fireplace, the three large floor to ceiling windows allowed the sunlight to pour through and spill on to the white marble, filling the room with an intense light.

He made his way up the stairs to reach the empty platform and looked around before sighing and pulling his wand in one motion, and after twirling it twice around before making a single jabbing gesture he discovered what he was seeking, there were six listening and recording devices in this room alone and after shaking his head once, with a small smile he vanished them.

He quickly pulled what would have looked like a matchbox to anybody else and set it down on the floor and with a single tap of his wand, it grew into the size of a small suitcase. Then tapping it again Harry stood back and watched as the lid opened and out sprang a glass desk, followed by his favourite computer chair, and everything else he wanted to decorate his office had hopped out of the small suitcase and within a matter of minutes, the room had been filled with furniture, the built-in bookcases had been filled with the numerous titles he had collected since he had arrived in this world. Two black leather armchairs sat waiting, opposite a black leather sofa, and in between them was a clear glass table and finally the small bar sat fully stocked and Harry promised himself a drink later.

He grabbed his remote control and pointed to the wall to his right and after flicking a button, a partition arose to reveal a large television screen and after a few seconds, the screen came to life to reveal a beautiful woman, her auburn hair cascading around her face and grey, piercing, eyes locked onto his, her expression was overwhelmed with worry.

"You are _so_ dead when I get my hands on you. You know that right!" She exclaimed but it was clear to both that she was relieved and happy that he was still alive.

"I want you to let everybody know that I am still alive and that the rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Harry offered a quick smile to reassure her that he was indeed still alive and kicking. "Now remember I don't want to see an Azkaban employee for at least another five days and I want you to make sure everybody knows it. And call William and tell him to stop selling his shares, it's pathetic, I swear every time something like this happens he goes crazy." He added with a touch of a smile.

"Yes I'll handle everything here. Including William." The woman let out a long sigh of suffering, that was somewhat ruined by her reluctant smile. "Now you, Mr. Potter, are going to take it easy, aren't you?" The clearly dangerous tone was warning enough for Harry and he quickly nodded, hopefully assuring her that he would indeed follow her advice.

"Goodbye Mr. Potter."

"See you soon Laura."

The screen went blank and the partition slid silently back into position and with another touch of a button, a new song that had captured his interest became to play, as he started hammering away at his laptop and let out actual groan when he saw the amount of emails he had received. He sighed and began to inform the world that he was indeed still alive, it looked like he was going be in for a long night.


End file.
